In this eight episode series, host Ry Moran goes in depth on why we need truth before reconciliation.
Over course of this season, we will visit with Survivors, elders, Knowledge Keepers, academics, artists, and activists, exploring the of the opportunities and barriers for truth telling.
Voices in the trailer: Carey Newman, Lisa Helps, Lawrence Hill, Chaa’winisaks, Val Napoleon, Paulette Steeves, Barney Williams.
Transcript
For optimal reading of the transcript, please access through a desktop browser.
Ry Moran: Why are the truths of Indigenous peoples so often suppressed?
[music begins]
This is a question I’ve been grappling with since my time working with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
As a Metis person, and an artist, I’ve also questioned my own truths....
So many of Canada’s problems seem to stem from the inability to accept fundamental, irrefutable truths.
Carey Newman: The intention was to assimilate and erase Indigenous identity, which is the very definition of genocide.
Ry Moran: About occupation of stolen lands-
Lisa Helps: Because every single city, town and village in this country is on Indigenous land.
Ry Moran: And about how history is written.
Lawrence Hill: There was a willful attempt to exterminate a history and memory and a possibility of even knowing
Ry Moran: We need truth before we can get to reconciliation, so we’ve decided to take a deep dive into this concept.
Over the past year, I’ve talked to Elders, knowledge keepers and Survivors, academics, artists and activists exploring the intersections of power, memory, and human rights.
Chaa’winisaks: We underestimate the role of education in creating the society we live in currently.
Val Napoleon: To continue a Canada without Indigenous law is to continue the colonization of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Ry Moran: To find a way to move forward together.
Paulette Steeves: But the more work that we can all do, to discuss these truths, right and to get these truths are acknowledged in the public, the more that we can add and open those paths to healing.
Ry Moran: And explore what needs to be done in order for the truth of our common experiences to emerge.
Barney Williams: I never gave up telling my story that in the hopes that somebody would hear the truth and accept it.
Ry Moran: My name is Ry Moran. [introduction in michif]. This is Taapwaywin: talking about what we know and what we believe.
A podcast from the Libraries and Archives of University of Victoria, and from the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
Join us this fall on apple podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
This podcast is created through direct work of an incredible group of people. It is produced and written by Karina Greenwood and Ry Moran, with editing and script support by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas, mixing and mastering by Matheus Liete, with music by Ry Moran.
Special thanks to Christine Walde, Emily Garry, Kaelan Smith, Lisa Abram, Molly Hanley, Samantha McFarlane, and Sophie Beriault for all their work and support on this project.
Taapwaywin is made possible through the University of Victoria Strategic Framework Impact Fund and with support from the UVic Libraries and CFUV Radio. This podcast was created on unceded lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territories.